


Seconds

by Talk_to_me



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Fluff, brettsey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:41:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27554782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talk_to_me/pseuds/Talk_to_me
Summary: 61 went over a bridge and Matt knows every second counts.
Relationships: Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey
Comments: 11
Kudos: 115





	Seconds

**Author's Note:**

> Fire's all I've thought about for 2 days and this is what came out. Apparently I only write fluff anymore.

Life and death in their line of work was often a matter of seconds. Getting to a victim in time, pulling them out before the flames got too high, before the smoke got too thick. Even a minute could be too long. 

Matt Casey had been on high alert all shift. There was a maniac in the vicinity with his sights set on the paramedics in his house. He could tell Severide all day that he would feel the same about anyone on his shift but they both knew that it being Sylvie made all of the difference.  


Less than a minute after Ambulance 61 left the house for a wellness check Matt heard the 10-1 come over the radio. In an instant he was shouting to his crew to move. They were already in the truck by the time the bells went off indicating the paramedics were “in need of assistance” 90 seconds after the ambulance had departed. 

They had just pulled onto 18th street when dispatch cut in with further detail saying the ambulance had gone over a bridge. Fear pitched down his throat and spread through his heart and stomach. He had never gotten physically ill from terror before but he found himself choking back bile as he frantically attempted to contact 61 via the radio. Though Matt knew it was under a minute, time seemed to drag on achingly slow as the truck made it’s way through vehicles at traffic lights. 

“We’ve got civilians!” he heard Stella shout as she wove 81 through cars that had pulled out of the way of the fray. From the distance Matt could see smoke rising from below the break in the guard rail. Sheer terror had him scrambling for the handle. Sylvie was incredibly good at her job and he knew she never let the gas get below half of a tank. He feared there wouldn’t be enough to get them out should the ambulance go up. “Stop” He shouted to Kidd. “Captain we’ve got to get over the bridge and down to them” she responded, the tamped down fear in her voice evident. “Let me out!” he shouted. “Hold on” Kidd said slowing in preparation to turn as soon as they cleared the bridge. Seconds were all Matt could think about as he shouldered the door open and glimpsed at the ground moving under him. “Casey!” he heard Stella shout as he forced his way out of the truck at a run, his feet eating the distance between himself and the edge of the bridge. 

Operating on pure adrenaline and instinct, Matt registered neither the 8 foot drop nor the 5 foot gap between him and the ambulance as he propelled himself from the ragged opening in the guardrail to the upturned side of the ambulance. He landed two-footed and put his hand down to steady himself. Onlookers would later describe it as a perfect superhero tripod landing. 

Steadying himself he noted the black SUV that had landed on it’s roof nearby as Truck 81 and Squad 3 rounded Stewart Ave. and onto the crash site. Matt was 20 seconds ahead of them, he didn’t know how far out the other ambulances were but he wouldn’t let himself think about the injuries right now, only clearing the ambulance. As Matt made the transition from the body of the ambulance to the cab, which was oddly precarious for a man who had just jumped from a bridge, the sound of Sylvie’s voice hit his ears and he nearly faltered from relief. She was alive. He yelled into the Ambulance “Brett, it’s Casey, we’re here” he announced. 

“Matt! Be careful! Halleck is out there. He ran us off the road. He has a gun.” He heard Sylvie call in a frantic voice. Matt finally reached the cockpit, peering over he caught site of Sylvie’s turned head as she extended herself to check the pulse at Mackey’s neck. “If he’s in the SUV, I don’t think you have to worry about him anymore” he said as he took in what parts of her he could for visible injuries. 

Just then he heard running feet and Cruz’s voice shouting for Gianna and Sylvie. “What’s the situation?” Severide said, not voicing the real question on the house’s mind. 

Matt pulled his head out. “Brett is awake and responsive. Mackey is moving but she has a head injury and I can’t tell if she’s conscious.”

“Her pulse is strong, it’s a long but superficial laceration!” they heard Brett shout from the ambo.

He witnessed his house exhale as they went into autopilot. 

“We’re going to need to get the door off to get to Brett, probably best to take out the windshield to get to Mackey” Severide ordered. As the squad pulled out their tools and got to work, Matt made eye contact with Sylvie. “You’re going to be ok.” She peered back at him with her eyes agape. “I can’t believe we survived this.” From the body of the ambulance Matt watched as Boden declared the gas tanks were still intact, the smoke was only rising from the radiator. With the door pried away, Severide put a line around Sylvie so she wouldn’t fall as they cut her seatbelt. 

“Hey, Idiot Captain America, you want to get down so I can pass her to you?” Kelly asked. Matt rolled his eyes as he dropped to the ground. This was not something that was going to go away easily. 

Matt extended his hands to support Sylvie under her armpits. As soon as her toes touched the gravel he pulled her into a bear hug that had her shuddering into his neck. 

“Matt” she began as they started to pull back. 

Suddenly, her eyes rolled back and she went limp in his arms. 

Panic filled him again as he shouted “Sylvie?” He scooped an arm under her knees and cradled her to him as he looked around and yelled “Medic!” 

Matt dropped to one knee, freeing the arm under her legs as he patted her cheek gently. “Sylvie. Sylvie, you have to open your eyes. Come on Baby, please? Please, open those eyes.”

Matt pulled her shirt up over her navel to look for signs of discoloration, finding none. Frustration met fear as the paramedics arrived with a stretcher to treat Sylvie. Her eyes fluttered open as he rose and placed her on the cart. 

“Sylvie” Matt sighed. 

“It was probably just the shock of coming down from all of the adrenaline, Captain” The paramedic treating Sylvie said as she took vitals. 5 minutes later Sylvie was cleared from any emergent trauma. The other ambulance would be taking her to the hospital to treat the seatbelt burn at her neck and run additional tests.  


Before departing Brett asked to see Casey who approached the back of the ambulance where she was seated. 

She smiled softly at him. “You know, if you keep calling me baby and trying to undress me, people are going to get the wrong idea.” 

Matt’s grin was both wide and sheepish. “I didn’t know you’d remember that.” He bit his lip and added, “Don’t forget I also jumped off a bridge to get to you.” 

“Matt Casey, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you had a thing for me,” she said with a bright grin. 

Matt ducked to her eye level. “Sylvie Brett, you can assess your partner’s injuries after using an ambulance for a trampoline, but you can’t diagnose the massive crush I have on you?”

Sylvie swallowed thickly. “I may still be in shock and I’m probably hallucinating so before I snap out of it, I should probably do this” she leaned forward and caught his lips with hers. 

Matt smiled into her sweet kiss and cupped the back of her head to pull her closer to him. 

Sylvie pulled back and hissed slightly. “I think my body is finally registering all of it’s soreness.”

Matt wrinkled his brow in concern. “I’m going to come over tonight so you aren’t alone. We can order in.”

Brett nodded slightly, beaming. As the other paramedics moved toward them Sylvie whispered “and you don’t have to sleep on the couch.”

Matt straightened and smiled. 

He put his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels as the ambulance departed. 

He turned in time to see Boden approaching. Matt took a deep breath and prepared to face the music.


End file.
